PEACHES [bws]

18. THURSDAY RITUALS

18.

Brad's smooth hands rub Summer's back as she cuddles up to him, her eyes tired but she forced herself to stay away as they watch a film in her room.

They had both showered and Brad was thankful that he had some spare boxers with him, courtesy of not knowing when he's going to hook up with someone. Brad help change Summer's bedsheets, telling her she should probably get to sleep but she said she'd order them both takeout.

"Are you at work tonight?" She asks, shifting her head on his chest to look at him. He glances down at her, shaking his head.

She purses her lips, the question on the tip of her tongue but she was too nervous to ask if he wanted to stay for the night.

Instead she just looks back at the television, her fingers tracing a few of the tattoos on his stomach.

"Do all your tattoos have meanings?" She asks after a few minutes of silence. Brad looks back down at her.

"Yeah," he nods, looking at the tattoo that her fingers were currently tracing. It was a rainy cloud, the cloud black and the raindrops just outlined. "I got this one because clouds are meant to be pure, they represent clarity. But what I've been through in my past makes me the least pure person you'll ever meet."

She looks up at Brad with soft eyes, her fingers lifting off of his tattoo before she kisses it gently, climbing onto his lap. She looks at all of the tattoos that ink his skin, amazed by the beauty of them. Most people wouldn't be able to look good with so much ink on their body, but Brad looked amazing.

"What about this tattoo?" Her fingers tracing a tattoo on his shoulder. He's entranced by how fascinated she is over simple black ink, but continues to entertain her nonetheless.

He tells her about all of his different tattoos—from the cheeseburger outline Tristan convinced him to get when he was drunk, to the melting ice lolly that was coloured in black, resting on his bicep that he got to remind him of his sister since she loved ice lollies so much.

"You should get a tattoo of my name," she teases him as she continues to straddle him, her arms around his shoulders as she leans back to get a good view of him.

"I don't get names tattooed," he chuckles as she tilts her head, silently asking for him to explain. "People aren't permanent, so I don't want their name to be permanently on my skin, either."

"Makes sense," she nods, her fingers tracing over his collarbone. He glances at the time, it's almost midnight and Brad should get home soon.

Neither of them wanted him to go, so he doesn't decide to get up and leave just yet. She gets off his lap and looks back at the film that was playing in the background.

Summer feels herself growing tired and since she barely has any energy left due to earlier events, she doesn't tell Brad that he can stay the night. Instead, her eyes flutter to a close and soon, soft snores escape her lips.

She snuggles into the bedsheets, causing Brad to look over to ask if she's okay. He notices her eyes closed and soft snores and purses his lips. Would it be rude of him to stay the night without asking?

He turns off the film and gets up off of her bed, standing in his boxers and trousers, his shirt discarded somewhere in her house. He stretches before looking back over at Summer; she looks so innocent when she's asleep.

Sighing, he takes off his trousers for comfort's sake before sliding under the bedsheets next to Summer. He hesitantly puts his arm over her waist before resting his head onto the pillow.

"Goodnight," he whispers, letting his eyes close as she subconsciously shuffled closer to him.

For the first time in a long while, Brad went to sleep without needing to get high first, or without taking pills to help him sleep.